Roasted Grape Tomatoes

I love getting inspired when I am on the treadmill and watching Food Network! Yesterday, I got going and tuned in to find a new show that I hadn't watched before, 5 Ingredient Fix. The concept is pretty simple, all recipes on the show are 5 ingredients or less, which means I will probably remember them later without having to pull the recipe from the internet.

As I was watching yesterday the host, Claire Robinson, was making a steakhouse dinner. My Yongest has requested the White Chocolate Mousse, which I will happily make for him later in the week. Today, I opted to try my hand at roasting grape tomatoes. I have fallen in love with this technique lately and I must say that tomatoes really lend themselves to roasting. The sweetness is intensified. They were so good, I couldn't stop eating them!

I'm sharing the basic technique as I can see this being a spur-of-the-moment kind of preparation. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. I used 1 pint of grape tomatoes, but if you are having company over you'll definitely need to increase the amount. I put the tomatoes into a glass baking dish, then added about 2-3 tablepoons extra virgin olive oil (I was planning to use any leftover liquid as a dressing for salad), a pinch or 2 of Kosher salt, a few grinds of black pepper. Then, I added about 1-2 teaspoons of aged balsamic vinegar. The vinegar was something I purchased on our first food tour in Greenwich Village at O & Co. I HIGHLY recommend using a really good quaility balsamic vinegar - the flavor really can not be beat.

From Family, Friends and Food

For such a simple salad, I couldn't stop eating it! The tomatoes burst in your mouth with a sweetness that is like candy. The extra virgin olive oil and vinegar mixed well in the baking dish and made a wonderful dressing for my salad. I had some tomatoes leftover and enjoyed them on some matzah - it is still Passover - but, could totally see serving them warm with some sliced baguettes as an appetizer. You could also use them in tomato sauce or even as a very simple topping to pasta.

Below are some recipes that stood out to me as I have been working on catching up with my blog reading this weekend. I've got them marked, and hope to try them sooner rather than later - let's hope I get to them before the official start of Summer.

Kristen at Dine & Dish served up a Chicken and Broccoli soup that she describes as a "hug in a bowl". Some days you just need that kind of meal.

Over at Love & Olive Oil, Lindsay made a Mongolian Beef that reminds me of what we would enjoy at a Chinese restaurant back in Kansas City before we were married. They served it over the fried cellophane noodles and it was so good. This one looks like it could bring back those memories easily.

If you are looking for something with a bit of spice to it, perhaps Eating Out Loud's Mexican Jicama-Pineapple Salad will do the trick. No worries if you don't like it spicy, you can adjust it to your own taste, and he's going to be sharing more South of the Border recipes this week. YUM!